WINONA, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team closed 2019 with a 93-61 defeat at Saint Mary's (MN) on Thursday.

The Knights finished the calendar year with their fourth game in six days and were unable to get themselves going on either end from the start. The Cardinals raced to a strong start and finished the first half with a 47-29 lead.

SMU continued its strong play to open the second half, pushing the lead over 20 points on the way to the win.

MLC shot 40.6 from the field and struggled both from the free throw line (5-13) and from beyond the three-point arc (4-16). SMU shot 46.8 percent overall, and went 25-30 at the charity stripe and 10-27 from downtown.

Austin DeNoyer led the Knights with 11 points, while Jonathan Riebe added 10 points off the bench. Joseph Hirsch finished with team high's in rebounds (seven) and assists (three).

MLC fell to 2-8 on the season in defeat. SMU improved to 6-1 with the win.

The Knights will return to action in the new year when they host St. Scholastica on Wednesday, January 8. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.